Last Chance Read Free Page A

reason I immediately jumped to Dad’s defense. “It wasn’t easy for him. He had such high ambitions for me. He toiled away in that factory so I could go to a decent school and become a doctor. He had this dream of perfect grandchildren living in a big house in a quiet village, me married to some posh bird he’d picked for me. When I told him I was gay and I wanted to study art, it was like...” I let the realization sink in for a moment, feeling the weight of its truth like a smooth pebble on my tongue. He’d wanted all of that for me, and instead I’d ended up a struggling artist in a ramshackle flat in an ethnically diverse part of London with my live-in boyfriend.
    I continued quietly. “It was like I’d destroyed his whole reason for living.”
    “Are you ashamed of who you are? What you have with Steve?”
    I shook my head. Kathy gave me this look that pierced through me like a knife. I couldn’t meet her gaze coz it hurt so bloody much. And I knew what she was going to say before she said it, and the worst thing was I knew she was right.
    “Then don’t you think you should go and show him what you’ve done with your life?”
    ***
    When Steve finally got home that night I was waiting for him. Not glued to the PlayStation or feigning sleep like I had been for the last week, but sitting on the sofa with a couple of beers on the table. I’d even poured them into glasses for a change. What’s more, I’d cleared up some of the junk from the floor and wiped the surfaces. Steve slumped on the sofa next to me and plonked his feet on the coffee table.
    “So, what’s the special occasion?” Steve asked, his lips smiling but his eyes weighed down with dark rings.
    “I just wanted to treat you after a hard day at the office.”
    “Hmm, that’s nice.”
    Steve must have been exhausted if he couldn’t see through such a blatant lie, but then again, I did want to look after him. Fuck knows what he was getting out of this relationship after all -- aside from all the shagging -- so the least I could do was try and pull my weight a bit.
    I moved around behind the sofa and started to massage his neck. The muscles were stiff and lumpy, but as I worked them with my fingers Steve groaned and let his head flop forward.
    “Mmm, feels good.”
    I kept at it until I felt the last knot give, and Steve rolled his head back to look up into my eyes.
    “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you,” Steve said.
    “I’m sorry I’ve been such a moody git.”
    Steve didn’t argue with me. I went back to his side of the sofa and threw myself down with my head on his lap so he could play with my dreads. He’d always said he found it relaxing. I guess that made two of us.
    “You were right.” The words weren’t as difficult to say as I’d imagined.
    Steve gave a lopsided smile and tugged gently on a dread. “I usually am. But help me out. Which thing was I right about this time?”
    “About Dad. We should visit him. Before it’s too late. I called Mum this afternoon and he’s in a hospice. I thought we could go up tomorrow.”
    Steve’s eyes widened but he held my gaze. I could stare into his eyes forever and not get bored. They might be gray, but they’re the brightest things in my world.
    “Do you really want me there?” he asked, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it before.
    “It’s okay if you can’t hack it. I mean, I wouldn’t blame you, ‘cause he’s a bigoted arsehole and it’s probably going to be really dep--”
    Steve stopped me with a finger to my lips. “Of course I want to be there. I’ve been wanting to meet your folks for ages.”
    “Even if Dad lays into you for fucking his son?”
    Steve grinned. “Even if he does. Speaking of which...” He shifted a little so I could feel the length of his dick against my cheek. It was fattening up nicely. I mouthed him through the wool of his trousers, smelling his arousal growing fast. Moments later, I’d kicked the coffee table out of the